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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

As such a useful tool of exchange, money is not inherently evil. Money can be a springboard to such evil as bailout-begging banks too monstrous to fail gambling with taxpayer wealth—you know, private profits, public risk. Casino financialization with taxpayers as a backstop. The $700 billion TARP bailout actually being a $23.7 trillion bailout. But the root of all evil is the human brain.

New research has exposed, shall we say, the root of the problem. Pathocracy is its flower.
Definition: pathocracy (n). A system of government created by a small pathological minority that takes control over a society of normal people (from Political Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes, by Andrew Lobaczewski).

A small minority of people are born psychopaths; they inherit a genetic deviance linked to certain structural abnormalities of their social brain.

The physical dynamic that exposes psychopaths is a reduction of gray matter in the anterior rostral prefrontal cortex and temporal poles. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is able to image this deviation fundamental to psychopathy. Potential benefits to humanity are immense; imagine something like a TSA screening (without the bureaucracy, groping and humiliation) to keep psychopaths from boarding the flight to power.

Psychopaths enjoy a perverse advantage over normal people in ascending pyramids of power. Unfettered by conscience, empathy, morality...some might say, without the weight of a soul, psychopaths readily rise to the top in a society turned upside down by pathocracy. Lying, cheating, stealing, backstabbing—without remorse, psychopaths can claw for power in ways that make a person with a conscience recoil.

It’s not so much that power corrupts as that the corrupt seek power.

Politics and investment banking are prime waters for psychopaths to school. If people enjoying great power over others were screened for social-brain deviations with an MRI scan, and the psychopaths were weeded out, renaissance might occupy Capital Hill and Wall Street. Judging from our current state of politics and financialization, there certainly would be many vacancies to fill in such a furthering of the humane.

It truly is right in our hands, an opportunity we may never see again.

But...possessing the means of physically detecting psychopathy and correcting the blight of psychopathic “leadership” may be irrelevant in the face of pathocracy fully entrenched. Psychopaths in power would never volunteer to have their social-brain deviations revealed, would never allow legislation regarding a brain MRI as a prerequisite to holding any elective office.

Perhaps it's true, "where there’s a will, there’s a way". Technology offers us the way—the key to identifying the human brain’s physical roots of psychopathy. The question becomes whether or not the American public has the will to force holders of great power over others, and seekers of such power, to bare their soul...or lack thereof.

Legislation requiring some “newfangled, junk-science” brain scan for leaders could only be forced from below. But our influence down here in the 99.99% is withering toward nothing but voting for a red psychopath, or a blue one, in elections controlled by unlimited corporate cash, and fraud.

And there’s: “Either with us, or against us”. Criminalization of dissent is plodding toward any questioning of entrenched pathocracy becoming “domestic terrorism”.

A most insidious aspect of psychopathy: It’s in the genes. Not only can moneypower be passed on through progeny, so can genes for psychopathy. The elite are shameless in pronouncing their gigadeath plans (95% reduction of human population) with such as Agenda 21, Georgia Guidestones, Denver airport...though they are elusive about how billions of humans will be eliminated....

When human population is reduced to 500,000,000, will the elite in absolute control be psychopaths across the board?

Perhaps an easy way to consider our potential is a simple MRI scan: Imagine...Dick Cheney was screened from ultimately becoming, for eight years, the de facto president of the greatest military power Earth has ever suffered.

One thing is for certain; that very few people of good conscious, empathy or compassion would ever join these global elite... Most likely these elite are people imbued with one psychosis or another; e.g., criminal, pedophile, bed wetter, etc..

Psychopaths are created, not born that way. They are morally deficient because their psychological development as moral or 'spiritual' development was arrested at the at the lower egocentric levels of consciousness.

Wrong Marion - absolutely and positively, this is a physical condition identifiable Scientificly from PHYSICAL evidence. It does NOT change with age and is NOT curable. Do some research, psychopathology is Not being antisocial.This is also why the Anon who said that forbidding them access to power would be the act of a psychopath was wrong too, and also why the other Anon was so right "That's what a psychopath would say" - beautiful response, thanks ;)It would really bring them out of the woodwork if such a law was proposed. Be funny really - they would shit their pants.

Anyone interested in this hypothesis should read Barbara Oakley's "Evil Genes." She makes a convincing case for the fact that psychopathy ("Machiavellianism")stems from a confluence of nature and nurture.

In modern times, mankind has come up with all kinds of mental health diagnosis to explain evil doing. There is the nature, nurture controversy.

I think we have to recognize that these theories are promoted by man.

If we keep the Most High God in the picture when looking for an explanation, people have been trained to roll their eyes.

The truth is stranger than fiction. The bible tells in the Old Testament that Satan's "seed" exists in the earth. He exists and there is only one way to interpret the word "seed". Children and a blood line. These evil doers are born that way if you believe in the Old Testament. We could at least consider that we don't know much because no one reads the bible anymore.

Modern man wants another explanation so they attach diagnosis for evil doing. So and so is a psychopath. He has no conscience etc. Well, Satan has no conscience. For all we know, Satan could have come up with the field of psychology to deceive us.

Eve did not eat an apple. The forbidden fruit (fruit means offspring) was a sexual union between her and Satan. She then told Adam about this and had sex with him on that very same day and produced twins. So one child Cain was Satan's seed and the other was Adam's seed. The was the beginning of the age old battle between good and evil.

Adam and Eve did not have sex at first in the garden because the Most High wanted them to be mature before having children so they were warned to wait and had no knowledge of it.. Satan seduced Eve.

Cain was the seed of Satan and he killed his brother Abel. Abel was the son of Adam. Adam's next son was Seth.

So, of course, people would rather believe a group of ordinary human mortals and consider their explanation gospel. These men don't really know. They are not gods. It makes more sense that they were born that way.

We call them psychopaths but they could be the children of Satan if you believe the bible. Of course, not many read the bible, especially the old Testament. And the bible explanation sounds way out there.

How can any body who loves freedom support this idea? Forcing individuals in society to undergo a brain scan to see if they fit a certain psychological profile. And if they do then what? Should we make them wear psychopath armbands and them shuffle them into "special areas" where they can be with their own kind - eventually "phasing out" these types of individuals. Or perhaps we scan them at or before birth and eliminate them if we see any traces of psychopathy. And then what? We find other mental disorders we don't approve of and create different methods to isolate those people from society. This idea is slippery slope and any activists who support it are just as wrong as any corrupt official in power.

Why must everything be viewed from an either/or perspective. I take the position that psychopathy stems from a confluence of nature and nurture.

Here's a resource for public education on income inequality that includes helping others understand sociopaths/psychopaths, for those who want to collaborate with other activists to make a difference in their community:

Excellent article! Short, sweet & the point. And well-documented to boot. As the author, I've long contended that the problem is that we're being 'led' by a pack of Bernie Madoffs. Over time, the psychopathy they spread becomes contagious as proven by the Right Wing. And for a quick view at a society that has gone completely mad with psychopathy, one look at Isreal ought to show you what the US - and the rest of the world - are quickly becoming. And those psychopaths have the nukes. Ha!

And for those who claim that psychopathy is not genetic or that it's this, that and the other argument, people, please do your research. Psychopathy IS a genetic trait which is triggered by social conditions. There's plenty of info out there on it and some pretty cutting edge stuff too. Look it up before you issue ignorant/uneducated opinions.

Everyone should read that book written by an author from Poland many years ago. It is called POLITICAL PONEROLOGY, it is available in English or French version. That is the testimony about living (or rather surviving) from the Hitler and Stalin regime. With good description and examples, you will learn to observe and recognize psychopaths everywhere without needing a scanner!It is up to you to know to check up the facts...

We know they are among us, but we have allowed them to rule over us. Since we cannot scan them, we should at least not be scammed by them.

In the corporate world we can choose not to work for them. In the political world, we have far to go.

All this money flowing into politics thanks to Citizen's United now in a bigger way than ever before is allowing people ignorant of facts to be scammed time and time again.

Our job is to first acquire knowledge and secondly to use it wisely. Wouldn't it be wonderful to stop allowing commercials to sway your vote and just vote for the poor candidate?Of course this would require involvement and backing to get the candidate the elite do not want on the ballot. What we cannot achieve in 2012, we could in 2014 and 2016 if only people were not so selfish, ignorant of facts, and greedy themselves.

I eagerly await the day we can throw the bums out and not allow another to stay in more than two terms on any level of our government.

A system which rewards psychopathic behavior, such as capitalism (private gain) and the cult of ambition, will of course create a system of cruel inequality. The solution is not to scan people (who will scan the scanners) but to dismantle the systems which enable psychopathic behavior and reward it.

Corporations, for example, are models of mandated psychopathic behavior, maximizing profits without concern for consequences. Those who succeed within this system are selected by their possession of qualities which advance private greed, social indifference, and cruelty.

As Rousseau said long ago, inequality (the actual result of psychopathic success) is the result of institutions which promote selfish ambition. Nature provides; nurture develops.

We need to destroy destructive institutions (like war, profit-driven healthcare, etc) and replace them with insitutitons which enable and reward cooperative behavior. Historially, that means we need to create socialism (not the statist variety, which is state capitalism) and discourage private greed. We need the original socialism, which was anti-state (ie libertarian) and envisioned workers and ordinary people owning and running both their economic organizations and their political institutions.

This will require worldwide revolutions.....and a vision of equality, liberty, and brotherhood.

The middle course is socialist libertarianism: pro-worker, anti-state, anti corporation. The modern state and the modern corporation both mimic the psychopath and so enable psychopaths.,

Oh, those Anons. Certainly, many are clear-headed, thoughtful, and actually read the article without imagining things into it then flirting with hysteria. Anon 16 wrote, “Look it up before you issue ignorant/uneducated opinions.” Excellent. One thing Americans excel at is defending deep-rooted opinions about things they know nothing about.

Anon 15 makes a great point: Weed out fantasy, this is site is too good for shepherd mythology.

Anon 14 is obviously intelligent and reasonable, and perhaps isolated from the herd by thoughtfulness?

Anon 5 makes a great point–more thoughtfulness.

Anon 4, to anyone thinking for themselves, the term “psychopathetics” might seem superb.

Then there’s Anons 1, 2, 9, 10, 11. This article is about the public being offered a simple way to identify psychopaths and thereby keep them away from power over us. The only people that need to be scanned are *** those seeking the power of elective office***. The author seems quite clear about that. “Slippery slopes” “scan babies,” ant farms and magnifying glasses, “any body” (sic) and imaginary freedoms, “psychopath armbands,” and “special areas.” “Forcing individuals in society to undergo a brain scan to see if they fit a certain profile.” I suggest reading the article–exactly what it says, before issuing ignorant/uneducated opinions.

I agree with the author. If there is any way to screen psychopaths from positions of great power, even though it is apparently too late because of enduring psychopathic leadership, we should at least make attempts to protect what’s left of life on earth before such as Fukushima, and WWIII do their worst.

I would venture to say that it has always been the case... no matter where you look in history you will undoubtedly find that sane, rational men and women do not exert themselves into positions of power or prestige because the very idea of being better than another person is a psychologically damaged idea. But we are pushed and driven by two extremes in this world... one that says STRIVE TO THE TOP (no matter what) and the other, the reality, that says if you are not a sick individual raised amongst "the elite" (who are most of them sick individuals with their brains all wired screwy) then you will never get even a fraction of the way to the top of society. And by the way, these laws are for you rational people so we can keep you penned in. BAAAAA...We can break them.

I found this Post very helpful, and posted some excerpts from it at the following Indymedia (Ireland) www address:http://www.indymedia.ie/article/102060?comment_limit=0&condense_comments=false#comment290800

Many thanks to all involved in providing the information in this Post.

Dear Randal Clifford, Your article, Is The Root of Evil the Psychopathic Mind�, supposes that representational government and a capitalistic society needs only to be purged of psychopaths, and great improvements for the greater good will ensue. Perhaps, to some degree, that would happen. However, what we are embroiled in are socioeconomic structures that cause exploitation. Evidently, the psychopathic elements of society may have had a hand in its design from the outset. Usury; the interest charging, monopolized, centralized bank is the �keystone� of our psychopathic society. The question goes deeper than what can be done about the psychopaths in our society. The question is what to do about society designed to engender all manner of wickedness among us; a society that gives rise to sociopaths. I have responded to the problem of psychopathy, which essay, Imperative for Kind Hearts! Lend Us Your Ears�, you can see at my WordPress blog: http://decentralizationblog.wordpress.com/ To do nothing in the face of a crisis is incorrect. The most precise response to understanding our situation was written by the anonymous commentator on this Activist Post,

�A system which rewards psychopathic behavior such as capitalism (private gain) and the cult of ambition will of course create a system of cruel inequality. The solution is not to scan people (who will scan the scanners) but to dismantle the systems which enable psychopathic behavior and reward it�� from, Anonymous, May 31, 2012, 6:02pm.

And, if that commentator looks at this comment, please, contact me.

The book Decentralized Economic Social Organization, DESO, and Neo-New World warrants the attention of everybody seeking a doable, and pragmatic, different option.

You can access the book I wrote, which outlines the structures of a saner society: http://reedckinney.com/

I welcome comments from everyone. You all be well friends!Reed C. Kinney � rkinney@prodigy.net.mx

The nice thing about ponerology is that we don't have to become conspiracy theorists to support it. Ponerology, in and of itself, should be a scientific field that is simply devoted to determining in an unbiased fashion what the roots of malicious and harmful behavior are. Do we have a pathocracy? This should not be a matter of opinion or political debate. It is a factual matter that should be studied by scientists in a variety of fields coming together under the rubric of ponerology. Supporting the flourishing of the field itself is a goal around which people of many viewpoints should come together.

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